Israel reserves right to veto Arafat's return

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today set an extremely tough condition on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat being allowed to attend tomorrow’s crucial Arab summit in Beirut.

Speaking on Israeli TV, Sharon called on the United States to recognise that if there were terrorist attacks while Arafat was in Lebanon, he had the right to refuse to allow him back into Palestinian territory.

‘‘If it is said to Israel by the United States that (Israel) can refuse to allow him to return if there are terror attacks, it will be easier for me to allow him to leave,’’ Sharon said.

He also said a decision to allow Arafat to go would be ‘‘easier’’ if there was ‘‘a declaration by Chairman Arafat, in his own voice, to his people, about a ceasefire, and a call to stop the violence.’’

The US has pressed Israel to allow Arafat to attend the Beirut summit regardless of whether the truce efforts by US envoy Anthony Zinni succeed.

Arab leaders convening in Beirut are expected to approve a Saudi proposal for Arab-Israeli peace in exchange for an Israeli return of all occupied land.

Sharon has said that there must be a truce for Arafat to attend, and last week suggested that his return would depend both on whether there were terrorist attacks in his absence and the content of his speech in Beirut.

Today was the first time he said the US had to sign up to that - a demand that seemed unlikely to be met.

‘‘Unfortunately, the conditions have not developed for allowing Arafat to go to Beirut,’’ Sharon said in the interview, which was broadcast on Israel TV’s Arabic language news programme.

He was apparently referring to the continuation of attacks on Israeli civilians. It was not clear whether a call from Arafat for a ceasefire at this stage would be sufficient to allow the Palestinian leader to travel to Beirut.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said he had no news of fresh Israeli conditions, but added: ‘‘The president’s position is simple and clear. We are dealing with a sovereign government. Governments have the right to make determinations.’’

Israel has repeatedly pointed to continued terrorist attacks on its citizens, saying Arafat must do more to crack down on militants if he is to be allowed to travel overseas.

Israeli police today thwarted an apparent bomb attack on a Jerusalem shopping mall which killed two suspected militants.

Two men from the Al Aqsa Brigades, a militia linked to Arafat’s Fatah movement, drove a car laden with explosives towards the city’s Malha Shopping Mall, but were stopped by police and killed when the explosives went off.

The thwarted attack underscored the difficulties Zinni faces in his truce mission, and it remained unclear whether a ceasefire could be reached ahead of tomorrow’s summit.

But Zinni made some progress in truce talks today, with Israel reluctantly accepting his latest proposals and the Palestinians seeking clarifications but not rejecting his ideas.

Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Israel reluctantly accepted the envoy’s latest proposals, even though ‘‘there are parts where we have to grit our teeth.’’

Palestinians also met Zinni today and expressed some reservations, but did not reject his proposals. Zinni promised to address their concerns.

The main disputes appeared to be over Israeli demands that the Palestinians arrest militants, and how to link a security deal to future political talks as the Palestinians want.

Sharon, meanwhile, said he regretted not having taken tougher action against Arafat. Sharon told the Yediot Ahronot newspaper that US President George Bush asked him repeatedly in the past year not to harm Arafat physically or expel him from the region.

‘‘My consent may have been correct at first,’’ Sharon said. ‘‘But from a certain stage in the conflict, it was a mistake. I should have told them (the Americans), ‘I can’t keep that commitment.’’’

In an interview with another paper, Maariv, Sharon said: ‘‘I should have gone to the Americans and demanded that he (Arafat) be expelled from the region.’’ The prime minister said that if Arafat did not crack down on Palestinian militants and if he released those already in custody, ‘‘we will blockade him in Ramallah once more.’’